UCSB Returns Home for Consecutive Big West Series

 The ScheduleSaturday, May 1, 2010 at Campus Diamond, 12 & 2 pmSunday, May 2, 2010 at Campus Diamond, 12 pm
UC Santa Barbara (10-33, 1-11) vs. Long Beach State (21-22, 5-7)
All-time series record vs. 49ers: 26-69-1
Last win: April 20, 2008 (8-7)
Last loss: April 19, 2009 (6-1)
All games available on Gametracker
Games 2 & 3 broadcast live on KCSB.org

 For The Record
UCSB enters this week with a 10-33 overall record, which is its slowest start to a season since 1991 when the team got out to an 10-33 start. The Gauchos have posted a 1-11 record in Big West contests with their lone win coming on April 18 at UC Riverside.

 Focusing on the 49ers
Long Beach State enters this weekend's series with a 21-22 overall record and a 5-7 Big West record. The 49ers have won just one Big West series, against Northridge (April 10-11) and most recently dropped two of three games to Cal Poly last week. As a team, Long Beach is batting .245 on the year and has posted a 3.42 ERA. Taylor Petty (9-12) leads the pitching staff with a 2.50 ERA in her 26 appearances.

 Conference Update
After four weeks of conference play, defending Big West Champion Cal Poly tops the leaderboard with its 9-3 record while Cal State Northridge and UC Davis are tied for a close second (8-4). UC Riverside (7-5) is in third while Long Beach, Pacific and Fullerton are tied sixth (5-7). UCSB rounds out the standings.

 Get Off Our Bags
UCSB currently leads the conference in runners picked-off (6) and is tied first for double plays (19). In fact, the Gauchos' 19 double plays this season ties the UCSB school record, which was set in 2004.

 Among The Nation's Best
UCSB ranks 10th nationally for double plays per game (0.44). Meanwhile, Jessica Ziegler ranks as the 51st toughest player to strikeout and Jamie Adishian is the 97th toughest. Keilani Jennings also ranks in the national top-100 - 26th to be exact - for sacrifice flies with her three this year.

 A Positive Decline
Despite dropping three straight last weekend to Northridge, the Gaucho pitching staff had its best weekend since the Big West schedule started. Krista Cobb and MeLinda Matsumoto combined for a 2.90 ERA during last weekend's series, a large improvement from the previous week's 4.05 team ERA against UC Riverside. Matsumoto allowed just one earned run on five hits in the second game of the series. Meanwhile, Krista Cobb allowed seven runs on 12 hits between her two complete games over the weekend and limited the Matadors to just two runs in the series' closer.

 On The Flip Side
Unfortunately, while the Gaucho staff was having its best Big West weekend, the UCSB bats were having their worst. The Gauchos batted just .135 across the series and tallied just 10 hits, though five were for extra bases. Jamie Adishian was the lone player to tally multiple hits (2).

 Beristianos' BatJessica Beristianos has started the Big West schedule in fine form, batting a team-leading .351 across the past12 games and she has hit safely in eight conference games. For the season, she is third on the team hitting .263, tied second for hits (31) and first for on-base percentage (.369). Additionally, she leads the Gauchos with 10 doubles, RBI (14) and is tied with a team-leading 20 walks.

 While We Are On The Subject
Beristianos is climbing through the UCSB all-time top-10 lists. She recently cracked the RBI all-time list and after tallying two last weekend, she is just one away from tying ninth-ranked Lindsey Herrin's career output of 70 (2004-05). She has also tied Stacy Atwood (1993-96) for fifth all-time with 32 career doubles.

 Leader Of The Pack
Despite the Gauchos' struggles this season, senior Jessica Ziegler is having a solid year. The leadoff hitter leads UCSB and is second in the Big West with her 47 hits, is second for stolen bases (18) and ranks sixth in the conference with her .324 batting average. Her 14 multi-hit games also lead the team. Not just an offensive standout, the first baseman also leads the conference for fielding double plays (14) and is second with her 279 putouts and 320 chances.

 Making History
Speaking of Jessica Ziegler, she is currently solidifying her place in the UCSB record books. The senior is now fourth all-time for career stolen bases after bringing her total to 47. She is five stolen bags away from tying Christine Ramos (2006-09) for third. Additionally, she has cracked the career hits top-10 list as she now ranks 10th with 154, four away from tying Stacy Atwood (1993-96) for ninth and she has moved to sixth all-time for career runs (96).

 No Sophomore Slump HereBrooke Putich has had a solid sophomore season in which she is batting a career-best .310, which is good for second on the team and ninth among Big West players. She is also tied second on the squad with 31 hits and is second for runs (15) and stolen bases (6). Her .400 slugging percentage leads the squad. The outfielder is amidst her second seven-game hitting streak of the season and has had hits in all but one of the Big West games that she has played in (she missed last weekend's series at CSUN).

 End Of An Era
Prior to this year, UCSB had posted seven consecutive winning seasons, a program record. Unfortunately, that streak has ended. With just nine games remaining on the schedule, the best record the Gauchos can now finish with is 19-33 (.365).

 A Record Better Left Unbroken
Despite its recent turnaround, the UCSB pitching staff owns a collective 5.21 ERA, which is on pace to surpass the program record for highest season ERA set in 2008 at 3.82. They have set records for home runs allowed (39) and earned runs (204), both also set in 2008.

 The Galicinao File
Head coach Brie Galicinao, who is now in her third season at the helm of the UCSB softball program, recorded her 60th win when the Gauchos defeated Utah Valley on Feb. 13. Galicinao has coached the Gauchos to a 66-82 cumulative record for a .446 winning percentage, the second best by a UCSB coach since the softball program went Division I in 1982. Galicinao has coached three players to All-Region honors, two players to Big West Field Player of the Year accolades, one Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year and 12 All-Big West Conference selections. In 2008, Galicinao was named the Big West Co-Coach of the Year after her first season leading the Gauchos.

 Tweet, Tweet
Head coach Brie Galicinao is on Twitter. To get her insights and updates throughout the season (and the rest of the year), follow her here.

 Gauchos.360
The Gaucho softball team has entered the blogsphere. Several members of the team are contributing regularly to "Gauchos.360" filling in UCSB fans on their student-athlete experience. To check it out click, here.

 Get Your Tickets
Tickets for all of the Gauchos' home contests this season are now available. To purchase tickets, please call (805) 893-UCSB, visit the Ticket Office located inside the Intercollegiate Athletics building on campus or click here.

 Kids to College
Sunday's game against Long Beach State is a Kids to College game. The UCSB Kids to College Program, provided by the Santa Barbara News-Press, is designed to give local youth the opportunity to experience the thrill of athletics events at the collegiate level in person. UCSB and the Santa Barbara News-Press invite all youth (eighth grade and under) to attend the designated games and receive free admission. Since the program is targeted to youth, all parents and chaperones who attend will pay full admission price for themselves.